The State of Texas and Business

The State of Texas and Business
It is not hard to find evidence that supports the claim
that Texas is growing. It is a state that is wide open for
business. Other states might make it difficult for people
to open a business but Texas is not one of them.

For starters, the state only requires that four easy steps
be met to open one's own business. First, a person must
choose a business structure. This requires choosing a
business structure that best meets your needs from a list
of seven possible structures. The next step that must be
met is receiving an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
from the state. This, of course, requires a lot of forms
that need signatures but isn't that difficult. Next, a new
business needs to file state tax information. The final
step involves educating one's self concerning employers and
employment.

Once these four steps are met, it is reasonably easy to
open one's own business. Once the business is open, the
state's laws, other than the franchise tax, favor business'
interests. There is not technically an income tax, and,
generally speaking, the state's tax levels are relativity
low. The state's courts also have been known to bend over
backwards for business' interests.

The ease with which people can open businesses is evident
in the number of small businesses that exist in the state.
Also, the growth rate is somewhat indicative as well. The
state also favors business by having a low cost of living
and cheap land. This allows people to buy land for their
business at a cheap rate (relatively speaking) which allows
for more money to be invested into the growth of the
business. The low cost of living means people can pay their
employees less than in other states but the employees are
still able to live at a high level.

The one down side of the State and business involves the
state's favoring of landlords over tenants. Generally
speaking, the laws of the state favor the person that owns
the property when dealing with rent disputes. A downside of
the state's tax structure is that business franchise taxes
often go up to correct the funding problems for the state's
schools. Businesses are given higher rates to ease the
pressure from the general populace. When one considers that
the general populace votes and not the businesses, this tax
policy sort of makes sense.

Generally speaking, Texas is a great place to open a new
business. There is tremendous growth throughout the state
even considering the recent downturn in the real estate
market.

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Joe Devine
http://www.slaterandkennon.com